Engineers just want to have fun

Jan 26, 2006

Researchers writing in IEEE Spectrum's February issue say you wouldn't believe what some engineers get to do for a living.

The Franklin, Tenn.-based magazine says engineering is sometimes seen as stodgy, yet many engineers find both fun and excitement in their jobs and in locales ranging from the Kalahari bush to the California wine country.

The magazine's study centers on 10 engineers who say they have found their "dream jobs," including designing spy planes, updating R2-D2 and tracking wild animals.

Some cases in point: Anthony Eckersall made the Bellagio Hotel's fountains dance in Las Vegas; Rick Townend travels with the Subaru World Rally Team; Manni Wong circles the globe designing theme park rides for Disney, and Martin Cooper restores priceless works of art.

If you've ever watched the Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" or visited Yosemite National Park, you've been affected by the work of engineers.

Their organizations include AeroVironment Inc., Walt Disney Imagineering, the University of Hawaii's Infrasound Laboratory, the IBM Corp., The Conservation Center of the National Museums in Liverpool, England, Benya Lighting, Wet Design, ProDrive, the Discovery Channel and CyberTracker Software Ltd.

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